Jacquard card-punching machine



(No Model.)

H.'HARDWICK. JAGQUARD GARD PUNGHING 1\M1.GHINE.-

Patented Jail. 28, 1896.

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w/r/vfssfs (P4 61,/ www @mu/ NITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HARRY HARDVICK, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

JACQUARD CARD-PUNCHING MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters PatentNo. 553,783, dated January28, 1896. Application led March 5, 1894. Serial No. 502,431. (No model.)

T0 all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, HARRY II-ARDWICK, a citizen of the United States,residing in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, have invented certainImprovements in Jacquard Card-Punching Machines, of which the followingis a specification.

My invention relates to machinery for punching the cards used in theJacquard mechanism of a loom, the object of my invention being to soconstruct such a cardpunching machine that cards for producing specialfabrics requiring a peculiar manipulation of the Warp-threads can bepunched Without the exercise of the care and skill on the part of theattendant which are demanded in punching such'cards upon an ordinarymachine. This object I attain in the manner hereinafter set forth,reference being had to the accompanying` drawings, in which- Figure l isa longitudinal section of sufficient of a card-punchin g machine toillustrate my invention. Fig. 2 is a sectional plan View of the same onthe line 2 2, Fig. l, on a somewhat smaller scale and With slightstructural modification of unimportant features. Fig. 3 is a sectionalVplan View of an alternating key-block for the machine, and Fig. 4 is alongitudinal section illustrating a modification.

A represents the base of the cutting-machine provided With suitableguides for the cards, Which are fed through the machine by a successionof short forward movements so as to present successive portions of thecard to the action of a row of punches B suitably guided in openings insaidbase-plate, and in an upper sliding block D carried by rods D, toWhich vertical reciprocating motion is imparted at intervals bymechanism common in this class of machines.

Suitably guided in the slide-block D are a series of bolts a, the innerends of which terminate in, line with a series of openings b formed inthe slidewblock D for the guidance of the upper ends of the punches,each of these bolts being acted upon by a spring c', tending to projectit so as to Withdraw its inner end from the corresponding punch-openingb, so that unless the bolt is pushed inward so as to project into saidopening and over the top of the punch said punch will not be depressedon the downward movement of the sliding block, and hence will fail toform 'an opening in the card, those punches only acting upon the cardwhich are locked to the sliding head by reason of the projection of theinner ends of the bolts c over the upper ends of the pun ches.

Usually the outer ends of the bolts a terminate in keys to bemanipulated by the attendant; but in preparing the cards for Weavingcertain classes of fabrics requiring a peculiar manipulation of theWarp-threadssuch, for instance, as ingrain-carpet fabrics using morethan the usual set of four Warp or weft threads-the cards are notpunched in the regular Way-that is to say, taking the eight squares of apattern-card representing the eight holes punched in the card by t-herow of punches B certain colors may be punched wherever they appear. Forinstance, if a certain color covered the entire eight squares of thepattern-card the Whole of the eight keys Would be depressed and acomplete roW of openings Would be formed in the card; but in punchingfor certain other colors certain of the holes Would have to be omittedfrom the card. For instance, in the case of one of these latter colorscovering the entire eight squares of the design alternate keys only-saythe first, third, fifth and seventh-Would have to be depressed, so thatonly four holes Would be formed in the cardIl in this row. Y This isWell known to those skilled in the art of card-punching.

' XVhen the attendant in charge of the cardpunching machine has to bearin mind that in punching the card for a certain pattern before him someof the colors are to be punched full-that is to say, Wherever theyappear in any square of the design-While others are to be ypunched onlyas regards certain squares of the design and not as to others, eXtremecare and attention are required, and even with the exercise of theutmost care mistakes are likely to occur, which are not apparent untilthe loom is put to Work and a piece of the fabric is produced. The aimof my invention, therefore, has been to so modify the construction of acard-punchin g machine that the production of cards for the specialkinds of fab ric alluded to can be effected with the eXer cise of nomore care and skill on the part of the attendant than Would be requiredin punch- IOO ing the cards for an ordinary fabric Where every color wasto be punched full-that is to say, wherever it appeared upon a square ofthe design. Vith this object in view I, by preference, discard the usualplan of forming the keys directly upon the bolts Which lock the punchesto the sliding head and provide for use in connection with said slidinghead and its locking-bolts two or more key-blocks each having the fullcomplement of keys,each preferably acted upon by a spring f1', only aportion of the keys of each block, however, being active keys,the othersbein g dummy keys, the depression of Which will not effect the operationof their corresponding lockingbolts. For instance, in Fig. 2 the fourkeys f of the block G (the first, third, fifth and seventh) are activekeys, which when depressed Will effect a corresponding movement of theirrespective locking-bolts a, While the four keys f (the second, fourth,sixth and eighth) are each dummy keys, being shorter than the keys j'.Hence the depression of these keys will not have the effect of renderingtheir corresponding locking-bolts operative. The cards are run throughthe machine while this key-block is beingr used and are punched in theregular way-that is to say, by depressing a key foreach color to bepunched wherever said color appears upon a square of the pattern. Thiswill effect the proper punching of the cards for those colors Whichshould only be partially punched, but it will only effect a partialpunching of the cards for those colors which are to be punched full.Hence after the cards have been run through the machine the key-block Gis removed and an alternate key-block,iI-I, Fig. 3, is substitutedtherefor. In this key-block II the keys h, (the Vrst, third, fifth andseventh,) which in the other keyblock, G, Were a-ctive keys, -are dummykeys, and the keys 7L, (the second, fourth, sixth and eighth,) which inthe block G Were dummy keys; are active keys. The cards are now againpassed through the machine in 'regular succession and are again punchedfor such colors as are to be punched full, or for the partial punching`of other colors, so that the punches which failed to act upon the cardsWhen the latter were first passed through the machine will now beoperative and the punching of the cards Will be completed for suchcolors as are vto be punched full, and if necessary a third or fourthpassage of the cards maybe resorted to, depending upon the number ofcolors in the pattern. Although this method requires passing the cardsthrough the machine tivo or more times, the relief of the attendent fromthe care otherwise necessary is such that a set of cards even with thisrepeated action of the `machine can be produced in much less time thanhas hitherto been required, While the cards are accurate, since mattersof calculation are determined by the active and dummy keys of themachine, and are not dependent upon the person who is operating themachine.

lVhile in carrying out my invention I prefer to adopt the constructionWhich I have described-that is to say, the use of alternate key-blockseach having a full complement of keys, some of which are active keys andothers dummy keys-it Will be evident that each block may, if desired,have but four keys, all of which are active. Thus one block may havekeys l, 3, 5, and 7, and the other may have keys 2, 4, (i, and 8. Thisarrangement, however, would be calculated to disturb the attend ant, whois familiar with the usual continuous row of eight keys, and hence itsuse is not to be commended. On the other hand, the series of eight keysmay be arranged in two banks, one above the other, the upper bankcomprising, say, the keys l, 3, 5, and 7, and the lower comprising thekeys 2, 4, G, and 8, as shown, for instance, in Fig. 4, the keys of butone bank being acted upon in punching for those colors which are only tobe partially punched, and both banks being acted upon in punching forthose colors which are to be full-punched.

Having thus described my invention, I claim and desire to secure byLetters Patentl. The combination of the punching mechanism of acard-punching machine, with a series of sets of keys each set adapted tocontrol alternate punches, substantially as Vspecified.

2. The combination of the punching mechanism of a card-punching machine,with a series of key-blocks, each carrying keys for controllingaportiononly of the punches, substantially as specified.

3. The combination of the punching mechanism of a card-punching machine,with a series of key-blocks each carrying a full complement of keys,some of the keys of each block being live or active keys, and the othersdummy keys, substantially as speciiied.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of tivo subscribing Witnesses.

HARRY HARDVVICK.

Witnesses EDWIN C. FREEMAN, XVILLIAM A. BARR.

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